Top 10 Scariest Novels Ever

Horror fiction is a literary genre that has its wide audience although some others are not into this kind of writings at all. Those who love this genre share many reasons: an escapement from reality, an effective way to conquer fear and finally an amusing genre. The upcoming novels are mostly familiar to our readers because of their popularity or being adapted to movies.

10 Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Salem’s lot is a 1975 horror novel written by Stephen King. It tells a story of a writer named Ben Mears who revisits the town where he spent part of his childhood after twenty five years. On his return he finds out that the town’s residents turned into vampires. In 1976, the novel was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and in 1987 it was nominated for the Locus Award as the best fantasy novel ever.

9 Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Pet Sematary is another successful horror novel by the American Author Stephen King that was published in 1983. The Creeds recently moved to a new house in the countryside when the encounter problems since their first moment they stepped into the house. After a while they start to discover that the cemetery in the woods near their house holds a mysterious power of life after death. In 1984, the novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award.

8 I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

I Am Legend is a 1954 horror fictional novel by the American author Richard Matheson. It tells the story of Robert Neville the sole survivor of a pandemic whose symptoms are similar to vampirism. This novel is a turning point in the development of the zombie genre and the theory of global apocalypse due to epidemic.

7 The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 novel by Shirley Jackson which is considered one of the horror stories published in the twentieth century. Hill House is an eighty years old house that has a haunted history becomes of an interest to Dr. Montague, who is an investigator of supernatural. He finds the house a perfect match to prove the existence of supernatural through science.

6 Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies is a 1954 dystopian novel by Nobel Prize-winning English author William Golding. It is his first published novel, it wasn’t that successful at its time but soon it became bestselling. It tackles the concept of individual welfare versus common good through a group of British boys who are stuck on a deserted island.

5 The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

The Silence of the Lambs is a 1988 novel by Thomas Harris. It is a sequel to his 1981 novel Red Dragon. Clarice Starling a young FBI trainee is given an assignment to present a questionnaire to Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Lecter is cannibalistic serial killer and a brilliant forensic psychiatrist.

4 The Ruins by Scott Smith

The Ruins is a 2006 horror novel by the American author Scott Smith. It tells the story of a group of friends on a relaxing Mexican vacation, having much fun and making friends with other tourists. One of those friends mysteriously disappears and the horror begins.

3 The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

The Exorcist is a 1971 novel by the American writer Peter Blatty. The novel is thought to be one of the most terrifying novels ever written. It tells the story of good and evil struggle in a shocking and blood-chilling plot of demonic possession.

2 Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

Rosemary’s Baby is a 1967 horror novel by Ira Levin. It is her second published novel and the bestselling horror novel in the 1960s. It tells the story of Rosemary and her husband Guy who moved into Bramford, an old Gothic Revival style New York City apartment building turning their backs on other people’s recurrent warnings about Bramford’s witched history.

1 The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

The Girl Next Door is a 1989 horror novel by Jack Ketchum. It is loosely based on the true story of the murder of Sylvia Likens. It tells the story of Meg and Susan who are left to a distant aunt care. The aunt rapidly descends into madness then infects her sons and finally the whole neighborhood.